Royal wedding: A stylish marriage for William and Kate

Bells pealed, crowds cheered, even the sun put in a timely appearance, as Prince William emerged from Westminster Abbey with his bride on his arm.

Wearing a broad smile, a Wartski wedding ring of Welsh gold and an ivory gown with lace applique, Kate Middleton – now Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge – joined The Firm amid the pomp and pageantry Britain prides itself on performing well.

Before a global television audience of many millions, Kate played her part to perfection. From the dress – by Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen, kept a secret until the last moment and sending the British fashion industry into paroxyms of ecstacy – to the 1936 Cartier diamond tiara loaned by the Queen, she looked every inch the fairytale princess.

Which, of course, she was not. The Queen's conferring of the ancient title of Duke of Cambridge on her grandson just hours before the ceremony deprived his wife of the title Princess Catherine. But she is a duchess, which is several rungs up the social ladder than her standing before entering the 1,000-year-old abbey this morning.

And there was no mention of fairytales – unlike 30 years ago when Robert Runcie, then Archbishop of Canterbury, gushingly pronounced Prince Charles's union with Lady Diana Spencer "the stuff of fairytales". Lessons have since been learned.

Instead, the Bishop of London, the Rt Rev Richard Chartres, read a prayer penned by William and Kate, and asking for spiritual help to guide them through their new life together.

And this time, the bride did not forget her groom's name and the groom did not stumble over the wedding vows. Indeed, apart from some slight wrestling required get the tight ring on to Kate's finger, everything appeared to go without a hitch.

William, in the bright red dress uniform of a colonel of the Irish Guards, whispered: "You look incredible, beautiful," as his bride arrived at his side in front of the High Altar. The two exchanged smiles and glances throughout the service.

The couple smile at the cheering crowds as they make the journey by carriage procession to Buckingham Palace. Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

The couple, in the 1902 state landau, were borne to Buckingham Palace on a sea of union flags and a tide of well wishes. And the kiss on the palace balcony, duly demanded by the crowd below, was executed with poise and with a few blushes from an embarrassed William. It was a fleeting and quite chaste kiss. It was repeated as the crowd bayed for more, with William's seeming awkwardness reflecting his father's own self-consciousness when he had been required to perform "that caper" in front of millions.

It was the father of the modern British constitution, the 19th-century essayist Walter Bagehot, who once wrote "a royal family sweetens politics by the seasonable addition of nice and pretty events".

Such was today's occasion, a moment of light to pierce the economic gloom. Kate, unblemished, beautiful and carrying a bridal bouquet that included sweet williams in tribute to her prince, hid her nerves well.

There surely were nerves as the couple made their vows in front of God, the so-called great and the good and a global TV audience of millions.

About 44 foreign royals were seated close to 51 members of the Queen's extended family. The lesser royals had been bussed to the abbey in minibuses.

Prince William and Kate Middleton smile during their wedding service. Photograph: Joel Ryan/PA

After the couple said their vows, in which she did not promise to obey William, the archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, declared: "I pronounce that they be man and wife together, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen."

They spent a private moment together with their families as they signed the marriage register.

The congregation included heads of state, diplomats, charity workers and the couple's friends. David Beckham, prominently displaying his OBE on the right lapel of his Ralph Lauren morning suit, was accompanied by his pregnant wife Victoria. Elton John, the singer, and Guy Ritchie, the film director, were among the celebrity faction.

David Cameron, who slept on the Mall the night before Charles and Diana's wedding, wore morning dress while his wife, Samantha, chose to go hatless, unlike most of the female guests.

The Middleton family guests were bussed in four silver mini-coaches from the Goring hotel, which the family had taken over for the pre-wedding night, thus bestowing on the hotel global publicity of inestimable value.

Prince William and Kate walk down the aisle. Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/AFP/Getty Images

Other guests included Hash and Chan Shingadia, who run the convenience store in the Middletons' Berkshire village of Bucklebury, and obligingly added a love of Haribo sweets to Kate's many attributes.

Villagers not in possession of a golden wedding ticket indulged in some celebratory duck and lamb racing on the green – and a spot of morris dancing.

Back at Buckingham Palace, 650 of the guests enjoyed a champagne and canape reception.

Royal officials said William and Kate were involved in planning their wedding day, from the music at the ceremony to the flowers and the cake.

Guests and observers agreed, it was a stylish marriage. Naturally it included a carriage. There was, though, a bicycle made for two at their disposal – a tandem given to the couple as a wedding present by the London mayor, Boris Johnson.

About this article

Royal wedding: A stylish marriage for William and Kate

This article was published on
the Guardian website
at 09.59 EDT on Friday 29 April 2011.
It was last modified at 05.11 EDT on Tuesday 20 May 2014.
It was first published at 10.00 EDT on Friday 29 April 2011.